SERMON F.

The Confolation.

ISAIAH xl. I, 2.

Comfort se, comfort ye my people, faith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerufalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for he hath received at the Lord's hand double for all her fins.

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HE particulars of the great mystery of godliness, as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, conftitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gospel Miniftry, "Ged manifeft in the fefb, juftified in the Spirit, feen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." It is my wifh and purpose to know nothing among you but this fubject; to preach nothing to you but what has a real connection with the doctrine of Jefus Christ and him crucified, and with the causes and effects of his obedience unto death, ever. the death of the cross. But a regard to the fatisfaction and advantage of my ftated hearers, has often made me defirous of adopting some plan, which might lead me to exhibit the principal outlines of the Saviour's character and mediation in a regular series of discourses; fo as to form, if not a picture, at least a flight sketch, of those features of his glory and of his grace which endear him to the hearts of his people. Such a plan has lately, and rather unexpectedly, occurred to me. Converfation in almoft every company, for fome time past, has much VOL.I.

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• 1 Tim. iii. 16.

turned

turned upon the commemoration of Handel; the grand mufical entertainments, and particularly his Oratorio of the Meffiab, which have been repeatedly performed on that occafion in Weftminster Abbey. If it could be reasonably hoped that the performers and the company affembled to hear the mufic, or the greater part, or even a very confiderable part of them, were capable of entering into the spirit of the fubject; I will readily allow that the Meffiak, executed in fo masterly a manner, by persons whose hearts, as well as their voices and inftruments, were tuned to the Redeemer's praife; accompanied with the grateful emotions of an audience duly affected with a fenfe of their obligations to his love; might afford one of the higheft and nobleft gratifications of which we are capable in the prefent life. But they who love the Redeemer, and therefore delight to join in his praife, if they did not find it convenient, or think it expedient, to hear the Meffiah at Wefminfter, may comfort themfelves with the thought, that, in a little time, they fhall be still more abundantly gratified. Ere long, death fhall rend the vail which hides eternal things from their view, and introduce them to that unceafing fong and univerfal chorus, which are even now performing before the throne of God and the Lamb. Tilt then, I apprehend, that true Christians, without the affiftance of either vocal or inftrumental mufic, may find greater pleasure in a humble contemplation on the words of the Meffiah, than they can derive from the utmost efforts of mufical genius. This therefore is the plan I spoke of. I mean to lead your meditations to the language of the Oratoric, and to confider in their order (if the Lord, on whom our breath depends, fhall be pleased to afford life, ability, and opportunity) the feveral fublime and interesting paffages of Scripture which are the bafis of that admired compofition.

If

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If he fhall condefcend to fmile upon the attempt, pleasure and profit will go hand in hand. There is no harmony to a heaven-born foul like that which is the refult of the combination and coincidence of all the Divine Attributes and Perfections, manifefted in the work of redemption; mercy and truth meeting together, inflexible righteousness correfponding with the peace of offenders, God glorious, and finners faved. There is no melody upon earth to be compared with the voice of the blood of Jefus fpeaking peace to a guilty confcience, or with the voice of the Holy Spirit applying the promises to the heart, and fweetly infpiring a temper of confidence and adoption. Thefe are joys which the world can neither give nor take away, which never pall upon the mind by continuance or repetition; the fenfe of them is always new, the recollection of them is always pleafant. Nor do they only fatisfy, but fanctify the foul. They ftrengthen faith, animate hope, add fervency to love, and both dispose and enable the Christian to run in all the paths of holy obedience with an enlarged heart.

The Meffiah of Handel confifts of three parts. The firft contains prophecies of his advent and the happy confequences, together with the angel's mesfage to the fhepherds informing them of his birth, as related by St Luke. The fecond part describes his paffion, death, resurrection, and afcenfion; his taking poffeffion of his kingdom of glory, the commencement of his kingdom of grace upon the earth, and the certain disappointment and ruin of all who perfift in oppofition to his will. The third part expreffes the bleffed fruits and confummation of his undertaking, in the deliverance of his people from fin, forrow, and death, and in making them finally victorious over all their enemies. The triumphant fong of the redeemed, to the praise of the Lamb, who bought them with his own blood, clofes the whole.

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whole. The arrangement or feries of thefe paffages is fo judiciously difpofed, fo well connected, and fo fully comprehends all the principal truths of the Gospel, that I fhall not attempt either to alter or to enlarge it. The exordium or introduction, which I have read to you from the prophefy of Ifaiah, is very happily chofen.

If, as fome eminent commentators suppose, the prophet had any reference, in this paffage, to the return of Ifrael from Babylon into their own land, his principal object was undoubtedly of much greater importance. Indeed their deliverance from captivity, and their state afterwards as a nation, do not appear to correfpond with the magnificent images employed in the following verfes. For though they rebuilt their city and temple, they met with many infults and much opposition, and continued to be a tributary and dependent people. I fhall therefore wave the confideration of this fenfe.

The eye of the prophet's mind feems to be chiefly fixed upon one auguft Perfonage, who was approaching to enlighten and bless a miferable world; and before he describes the circumftances of his appearance, he is directed to comfort the mourners in Zion, with an affurance, that this great event would fully compenfate them for all their forrows. The ftate of Jerufalem, the reprefentative name of the people of God, was very low in Ifaiah's time. The people, who in the days of Solomon were attached to the fervice of God, honoured with signal tokens of his presence and favour, and raised to the highest pitch of temporal profperity, were now degenerated, the gold was become dim, and the fine gold changed. Iniquity abounded, judgments were impending, yet infenfibility and fecurity prevailed, and the words of many were ftout against the Lord. But there were a few who feared the Lord, whose eyes affected their hearts, and who mourned for the

evils

evils which they could not prevent. Thefe, and thefe only, were, in ftrictness of speech, the people of the Lord, and to these the meffage of comfort is addreffed. Speak to Jerufalem comfortably, speak to her heart, (as the Hebrew word is), to her very cafe, and tell her that there is a balm for all her wounds, a cordial for all her griefs, in this one confideration, MESSIAH is at hand. In the prophetic style things future are defcribed as prefent, and that which the mouth of the Lord has spoken of as fure to take place, is confidered as already done. Thus the prophet, rapt into future times, contemplates the manifeftation of MESSIAH, the accomplishment of his great undertaking, and all the happy confequences of his obedience unto death for men, as though he stood upon the spot, and with John, the harbinger of our Lord, (whofe appearance he immediately defcribes), was pointing with his finger to the Lamb of God that taketh away the fin of the world.

This comfortable meffage confifts of two parts. First, the removal of evil; her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned. Secondly, A promife of good more than equivalent to all her afflictions; the hath received at the Lord's hand doublefor all her fins.

I. Two ideas are included in the original term, tranflated warfare.

1. A ftate of service connected with hardship, like that of the military life *.

2. An appointed time, as it is rendered in Job f. Thefe ideas equally apply to the Mofaic difpenfation. The fpirit of that inftitution was comparatively a fpirit of bondage, diftance, and fear; and the ftate of the church while under the law, is refembled by the Apoftle to that of a minor, who, though he be an heir, is under tutors and governors,

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and

Numb..i. 3.

† Job vii. 1. and xiv. 14,